February 4, 2003

Bobby Hamilton No. 4 Dodge To Promote Lufkin® Pro Series Tape Measures

Driver, owner Bobby Hamilton has signed a new addition to his Bobby Hamilton Racing team. Lufkin® Pro Series, a brand of Cooper Hand Tools, is joining Square D as a major associate sponsor for the No. 4 Dodge Ram driven by Hamilton. Lufkin Pro Series logos will appear on the No. 4 truck, promoting this Cooper Hand Tools brand to NASCAR fans.

“This is a new sponsorship for BHR,” Hamilton said. “The Cooper Hand Tools people we’re working with are excited to get this program started. They’re interested in getting their feet wet this season, then possibly growing the program into something bigger. Hopefully we can show them the unlimited opportunities and benefits of motorsports sponsorship, and they will want to be in this sport and with BHR for years to come.”

Hamilton moved full-time to the Craftsman Truck Series last season after competing in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for 13 years. The 46-year old Nashville, Tenn. native won two races, Darlington and Homestead, and was credited with three Bud Pole Awards. The veteran driver led over 394 laps last year before finishing sixth in the closest Championship point race in Truck Series history. Hamilton is the owner of three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entries, including his own Square D Dodge, the No. 18 Dickies Dodge driven by Chad Chaffin and the No. 8 Dodge driven by Chase Montgomery. The former Winston Cup Series veteran has four wins to his credit.

Tom Kritzell, vice president of marketing for Cooper Hand Tools, says the company expects many benefits from its entry into NASCAR and Craftsman Truck Series racing. “This relationship provides us with another opportunity to support our distributors and retailers by building national brand awareness and product demand with consumers,” Kritzell says. “We expect our new Lufkin Pro Series products to benefit tremendously from the added exposure this kind of promotion brings. Our new relationship with one of the top teams in Craftsman Truck Series racing will be not only exciting for our customers and employees, but beneficial to everyone involved.”

The company is launching race-related promotions, offering fans Bobby Hamilton Racing team apparel and Lufkin Pro Series products. For additional information on the company and its racing program, go to www.proseriesracing.com  or www.cooperhandtools.com.

Cooper Hand Tools, a division of Cooper Industries, Inc., manufactures and markets many well-known brands of hand tools, chain, and electronic soldering products, including Campbell® chain, Crescent® brand wrenches and pliers, Lufkin® measuring tools, Nicholson® files and saws, Plumb® hammers, H.K. Porter® bolt cutters, Weller® soldering products, and Wiss® snips. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Cooper Hand Tools has manufacturing facilities in six domestic and seven international locations, and has approximately 4,000 employees worldwide.